Alexander Volkov won by unanimous decision against Waldo Cortes-Acosta with scorecards of 30-27, 29-28, and 29-28 at UFC 328. The crowd in New Jersey booed the decision, apparently appreciating Acosta's gestures calling for exchanges in the center of the octagon. The observer felt Volkov clearly won the first two rounds. However, the victory was considered less dominant than expected, especially compared to Volkov's performance against Sergey Pavlovich two years ago. During the octagon interview, Volkov carried the Russian flag and told the booing crowd it was an honor to fight on May 9th, before calling for a title shot against Aspinall, Gane, or Pereira.
Alexander Volkov earned a unanimous decision victory over Waldo Cortes-Acosta at UFC 328 on May 9th in New Jersey, with two judges scoring the fight 29-28 and a third seeing it more clearly at 30-27 in favor of the Russian heavyweight.
Volkov, known as "Drago," enters the win at 40-11-0 and remains the number-one ranked heavyweight contender at 37 years old. The six-foot-seven Russian, who fights out of Strela Team, carries a 80-inch reach and lands an impressive 4.78 significant strikes per minute at 57 percent accuracy. The victory, while secured on the scorecards, was viewed as a less commanding performance than his showing against Sergey Pavlovich two years prior. In the post-fight interview, Volkov carried the Russian flag, told the booing crowd it was an honor to compete on May 9th, and called out the heavyweight champion alongside Ciryl Gane and Alex Pereira.
Cortes-Acosta, nicknamed "Salsa Boy," falls to 17-3-0 and drops from tenth in the division rankings despite drawing crowd support throughout the contest. The 34-year-old American, standing six-foot-four with a 78-inch reach, came forward throughout the night and made repeated gestures calling Volkov into center-octagon exchanges, which resonated with the New Jersey audience. Cortes-Acosta actually holds the higher output rate of the two, averaging 5.54 significant strikes per minute, though his accuracy sits at 49 percent.
Why it matters
- Volkov's win at number one keeps him in direct contention for a heavyweight title shot against the current champion
- The crowd's negative reaction to the decision signals Cortes-Acosta built real fan equity despite the loss
- A style contrast between Volkov's technical volume striking and Cortes-Acosta's pressure-forward approach produced a closer fight than many anticipated at the top of the divisional rankings
Saturday, May 9, 2026
